Shapiro v. US Claims, Inc. (In re Welch)

511 B.R. 99
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedApril 28, 2014
DocketBankruptcy No. 12-58561; Adversary No. 13-4972
StatusPublished

This text of 511 B.R. 99 (Shapiro v. US Claims, Inc. (In re Welch)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shapiro v. US Claims, Inc. (In re Welch), 511 B.R. 99 (Mich. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING U.S. CLAIMS, INC.’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DENYING THE TRUSTEE’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

MARK A. RANDON, Bankruptcy Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

US Claims, Inc. (“USC”) advances money to individuals with legal claims likely to have favorable outcomes. If a claim is successful, USC is repaid its advance— plus a significant pre-negotiated return on its investment; nothing is owed, if the claim is dismissed or money is not recovered. The arrangement is accomplished through a Purchase Agreement: USC buys an interest in some or all of the anticipated claim proceeds, to be repaid from any final verdict, award or settlement of the claim.

Two years before filing her voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, and in need of cash now, Bonnie Lynn Welch sold USC a portion of her anticipated workers’ compensation claim (“WC”) proceeds. Welch’s WC claim settled — and USC received payment on its interest — one month before her bankruptcy filing.

In this adversary proceeding, Mark H. Shapiro, the Chapter 7 Trustee for Welch’s bankruptcy estate, seeks to avoid the transfer of proceeds to USC as preferential. In general, among other requirements, a preference must occur within 90 days before the filing of the bankruptcy petition to be avoided.

USC’s motion for summary judgment is pending. The Trustee responded and filed a cross-motion for summary judgment; the Court heard oral argument on April 17, 2014. Because Welch irrevocably sold a portion of her anticipated WC proceeds two years before her bankruptcy petition was filed, the transfer of her interest did not fall within the 90 day preference period. Therefore, USC’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED, and the Trustee’s motion for summary judgment is DENIED.

II. BACKGROUND

On September 14, 2010, Welch and USC entered into a Purchase Agreement: [101]*101Welch sold, transferred, conveyed, and assigned to USC a $5,953.00 interest in her anticipated WC claim proceeds in exchange for an immediate payment of $5,000.00. The Purchase Agreement also provided that USC would receive a rate of return on its purchased interest of 35.4% compounded monthly. If Welch was not successful on her WC claim, she would owe USC nothing.

Twenty-two months later, in July of 2012, Welch settled her WC claim and, pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, her WC attorney sent USC a check for $10,046.00 (the purchase price plus the accrued rate of return). Welch filed her bankruptcy petition on August 10, 2012.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, made applicable to this proceeding by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7056, summary judgment must be granted “if the movant shows that there are no genuine issues as to any material fact in dispute and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); CareToLive v. Food & Drug Admin., 631 F.3d 336, 340 (6th Cir.2011). The standard for determining whether summary judgment is appropriate is whether “the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Pittman v. Cuyahoga County Dep’t of Children Servs., 640 F.3d 716, 723 (6th Cir.2011) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). The Court must draw all justifiable inferences in favor of the party opposing the motion. Pluck v. BP Oil Pipeline Co., 640 F.3d 671, 676 (6th Cir.2011). However, the non-moving party may not rely on mere allegations or denials, but must “eit[e] to particular parts of materials in the record” as establishing that one or more material facts are “genuinely disputed.” Rule 56(c)(1). A mere scintilla of evidence is insufficient; there must be evidence on which a jury could reasonably find for the non-movant. Hirsch v. CSX Transp., Inc., 656 F.3d 359, 362 (6th Cir.2011).

IV. ANALYSIS

11 U.S.C. § 547(b) allows the Trustee to avoid any transfer of an interest of the debtor in property, if all five of the following conditions are met:

(1) the transfer was made to or for the benefit of a creditor;
(2) for or on account of an antecedent debt incurred before the transfer was made;
(3) made while the debtor was insolvent;
(4) within 90 days before the date of the filing of the petition; and,
(5) that enables such creditor to receive more than such creditor would receive if the case were a case under Chapter 7 of this title, the transfer had not been made, and such creditor received payment of such debt to the extent provided by the provisions of this title.

USC disputes that the transfer was preferential on the first, second and fourth conditions. But, the Court’s inquiry turns on the date that Welch transferred a portion of her interest in the anticipated WC claim proceeds: was it on the date she signed the Purchase Agreement — two years before her bankruptcy filing? Or, as the Trustee argues, was it on the date her WC attorney actually paid USC — one month before her bankruptcy filing? The answer depends on whether Welch conveyed a security interest in the anticipated WC proceeds, or irrevocably sold USC a portion of those proceeds. A security interest does not necessarily transfer owner[102]*102ship. However, an absolute assignment permanently transfers all rights to the as-signee on the date the agreement is signed. In re Gibraltar Resources, Inc., 202 B.R. 586, 588 (N.D.Tex.1996) (citations omitted) (“[w]hen a debtor makes an absolute assignment to a creditor, of money that the debtor is entitled to receive from a third party, a transfer is perfected and complete when the assignment is executed rather than when the money is disbursed to the creditor”); In re Adventist Living Centers, Inc., 174 B.R. 505, 512 (Bkrtcy.N.D.Ill.1994) (“[f]or purposes of Section 547(b)(4), a transfer occurs on the date the contractual right to payment is assigned, not on the date payment is actually made or collected”) (citations omitted).

The Court must review the entire Purchase Agreement to determine whether the transaction was an absolute assignment. State Mut. Life Assurance Co. of Am. v. Deer Creek Park,

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Bluebook (online)
511 B.R. 99, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shapiro-v-us-claims-inc-in-re-welch-mieb-2014.